Lenovo readies ultrathin ThinkPad X1, ThinkPad tablet

Jos

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Lenovo was apparently leaking like a sieve over the weekend and now details for two still-unannounced products are starting to emerge ahead of their official announcement. The first concerns a new ThinkPad laptop model that's slimmer and thinner than any of its predecessors and also happens to feature a non-removable with new Rapid Charge technology, which will result in charging times 2.5 times faster than previous ThinkPad batteries.

The ThinkPad X1 will reportedly feature a 13.3-inch Gorilla Glass display with 1366 x 768 resolution, 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 2520M processor, up to 8GB RAM, a 160GB SSD for fast storage and will be just 21.5mm thick. Despite the small size you'll still find a decent assortment of connectivity options, with USB 3.0, eSATA, 3G Mobile Broadband, an SDXC memory card reader, and a hybrid "Digital Display Port" that could output to either DisplayPort or HDMI.


The leaked presentation slides show the X1 right alongside Lenovo's latest Edge models, the E420s and E220s, as part of "a new generation of ThinkPads." Although battery life on the X1 was not mentioned, Lenovo says it's three times more than a typical notebook and the new Rapid Charge technology will bring it to 80% charge in just 30 minutes.

As for the second big reveal it involves a new Honeycomb tablet from Lenovo carrying the ThinkPad moniker. This is separate from the often-delayed (in the U.S. at least) LePad tablet, and given the name it will likely target a business crowd with the usual security features and solid build quality.


Spec-wise it should have a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 IPS capacitive multi-touch panel, a Tegra 2 processor, up to 64GB of storage, front and rear cameras, a full-size USB 2.0 port, mini-HDMI out, a SD card reader and up to 8 hours of battery life in a package about 14mm thick and weighing 1.6 pounds. For reference, the Apple iPad 2 is 8.8mm thick and weighs 1.3 pounds, but lacks certain features like a USB 2.0 port, card reader, or HDMI-out without a separate accessory.

The new ThinkPad Tablet will run a customized variant of Android 3.0 and come with optional pen input as well as a portfolio case with a built-in keyboard, allowing you to use the tablet like a laptop. Other business-oriented options will apparently include anti-theft and remote wipe options, all while keeping the starting price at $500.

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That power is insane! This thing (if priced fairly low) will make a TON of people switch from Apple to Android... :D :D :D :D

DOWN WITH APPLE
 
Anonymoussurfer said:
That power is insane! This thing (if priced fairly low) will make a TON of people switch from Apple to Android... :D :D :D :D

DOWN WITH APPLE

What power? It's got the same Tegra 2 chip and all the Android tablets released have.
 
Except, it's a laptop from the Thinkpad line. Thinkpads are the "PC" version of an Apple MacBookPro (well, the other way around, Thinkpads came first), and by name alone carry a price premium over other "PC" laptops. The only difference is that the Thinkpad hardware is (generally) better and are built Mack Tough.? Oh, and they are historically flat black, opposed to the Apple standard of glossy white/brushed aluminum silver.

Still, it is a considerable amount of power in a small chassis.

edit: derp, I thought Anonymoussurfer was talking about the laptop, then noticed "Android." Well the Thinkpad name premium part still counts. =p
 
Except, it's a laptop from the Thinkpad line. Thinkpads are the "PC" version of an Apple MacBookPro (well, the other way around, Thinkpads came first), and by name alone carry a price premium over other "PC" laptops. The only difference is that the Thinkpad hardware is (generally) better and are built Mack Tough.? Oh, and they are historically flat black, opposed to the Apple standard of glossy white/brushed aluminum silver...

The first Powerbook came out in 1991, the first Thinkpad came out in 1992. Also, the first Powerbooks were black, the TiBook (first Powerbook G4) was the first to have a brushed metal exterior.
Sources: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_History , http://lowendmac.com/pb/powerbook-100.html
 
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